With the rise of 5G comes the rise of private networks. Private 5G networks allow companies to manage all of their devices, services, and assets in a more secure, private, and efficient way, having more control of their network. With enterprises facing the need for accelerated digitization and 5G designed to provide solutions for these obstacles, this could be the year of 5G.

Industry Challenges

Some of the most pressing industry needs are reliable coverage, higher bandwidth, speed and security. All of these challenges pose very real financial, regulatory and privacy risks, and at the same time, significant competitive advantage if they’re all met. Security, in particular, continues to rise in priority, with weekly corporate cybersecurity attacks were up 50% last year alone. Still, while cybersecurity concerns are up, more demand for operation efficiency has created a tightrope walk for enterprises. When investing in industrial IoT that connects and automates machines, 45% of manufacturing executives expect higher efficiency. One way to address these challenges is by adopting private 5G networks.

Here’s an overview of industry challenges and how private 5G networks can help:

Reliable Coverage & Higher Bandwidth: Companies like manufacturers cannot rely on an ordinary Wi-Fi network to monitor all of their machines, computers, monitors, etc. Let’s say a manufacturer did not have a private 5G network, and they had a Wi-Fi outage. That outage automatically halts production, which could lead to shipment delays, and even lost revenue.

Speed: Similar to coverage and connectivity, speed is a crucial factor of operational efficiency. If a manufacturer’s network lags and is slow, they are not operating at their ideal level or full capacity. An enterprise’s success should not rely on the strength or speed of their Wi-Fi, but speed is certainly an industry-wide issue.

Security: Using a public network is not secure enough for an enterprise’s data and sensitive information. According to a recent IBM Security report, the global average cost of a data breach has reached an all-time high of $4.35 million USD. Besides this massive financial consequence, data breaches also lose consumers’ trust, loyalty, and future purchases.

Private Networks provide solutions for the challenges enterprises are currently facing and enable the usage of emerging immersive experiences such as AR/VR. These challenges are not just bottlenecks, nor do they cause minor setbacks or frustrations for employees. Rather, these challenges have very real financial and consumer-centric implications.

Private 5G Network Opportunities

To avoid security and efficiency challenges, enterprises are adopting private networks powered by 5G. This leads to an influx of cross-industry partnerships, as businesses realize there is a new solution to their existing challenges. This doesn’t stop at manufacturing business either; these solutions are relevant across industries.

IBM and Bharti Airtel recently announced that they are partnering to bring private cloud enabled by 5G to power enterprises in India. This is an example of how the power and emergence of 5G had led to the emergence of private networks. Airtel will enable companies to set up private networks for Indian businesses so they can better meet regulatory and demand requirements.

A New Era

Now, this new era of 5G not only ushers in an era of private networks, but also an era of cross-industry partnerships and coordination. With private networks, enterprises no longer have to rely on unstable connectivity, latency, and lack of security that come with using public Wi-Fi networks. For all of these reasons, IBM believes that this is the year for private networks.

If you want to learn more, Marisa Viveros will be speaking more on this topic at Mobile World Congress Las Vegas on Friday, Sept. 30 from 11:30-12:30 PM PDT on Level 2, W231, in the West Hall.

Several other IBMers will be speaking on panels at Mobile World Congress this week. Other sessions include:

• Wednesday, Sept. 28^th 1:30-2:30 PM PDT - Unlocking 5G for Meaningful Connectivity – Lory Thorpe, Global solutions and Offerings – Industry Partner Telecommunications
• Thursday, Sept. 29^th 1:30-2:30  PDT – Cloud for Telco vs Cloud by Telco – Bill Lambertson, Industry Leader VP Global Telecommunications Industry
• Thursday, Sept. 29^th 4:30-5:30 PM PDT – Road to Zero-Touch Automation – Murali Gandluru, VP Strategy and Product at GTM, Software Networking
• Friday, Sept. 30^th 10:00-11:00 PM PDT – Limitless Data – Matthew Leib, Product Marketing Manager, IBM Storage